Your EDM Premiere: Signal Makes the Old School New Again with a Magical ‘Rain Dance’ [INVISIBLE]

Signal’s newest EP Solitude is due out this Friday, November 9 on Noisia’s INVISIBLE imprint, and it’s probably one of the most interesting releases he’s done to date. With the Synergy collab “Duster” and a glitchy, steppy banger called “Unsure” teasing the EP, fans already know they’re in for a good time with this one. Your EDM has one last premiere to add to the mix before tomorrow’s drop called “Rain Dance” and it shows once again that Signal’s diversity, sound design and his ability to fold drum and bass’s history into one emotive track is the reason he’s still at the top of the game.

What will strike old schoolers right away about “Rain Dance” is that it has two bedrock samples folded into it: a digital sample from Q Project’s “Champion Sound”and a vocal sample that was used so much in 90s DnB and jungle that at one point it became ubiquitous for mixing in DJ sets as well as on songs. So what is Signal doing with these two seemingly contrasting samples in a modern track? Pretty much everything unexpected.

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The samples are woven into a tribal-tinged intro which also contains samples of rain sounds, then continued after the snare-heavy drop which initially, instead of a bassline has halting breath sounds that follow the beat. The bassline then joins the breaths in before they’re modulated to great a number of other different sounds. The beat changes completely after the second drop, going much more dark and heavy, before the old school samples pull the track into a third build and drop which becomes ravey and sort of 80s computer game-ish. The original beat returns with the new ravey synth, and after that it gets really mad. Brain scrambled yet? This description is nothing compared to the actual track.

“Rain Dance” is five minutes and 47 seconds of jungle and drum and bass vibes, old school nostalgia, emotive synths and beats and lots of experimentation. Listening to the technical aspects of this track, the layering of sounds and the ambient sound design, one could sincerely write a dissertation on “Rain Dance.” Since it is a dance, however, it’s much more fun to just listen and get loose with the huge vibes. Despite all the technical prowess of this track, it’s pretty clear Signal was all about vibes with this one.

Solitude is out on INVISIBLE this Friday, November 9. Check out “Unsure” and “Duster” with Synergy on Soundcloud. Purchase links will be up shortly on Beatport and the INVISIBLE website.